Complicated
by AWolfAmongSwans
Summary: When Alex has a spontaneous hook up with Maxwell Lord, it leads to a very awkward morning after when Kara decides to stop by her apartment to visit her sister. [cross-posted from AO3]


It was bound to happen.

After all of the banter, the looks, the unresolved tension...

It was only natural that it would eventually lead somewhere.

Alex had gone over to Lord Technologies late one night, to inquire about something for the DEO. The usual ensued, Max decided to play coy about what he knew, Alex sidled up to him and did some light threatening to make him talk and well...

Next thing she knew, they were back at her place, the clothes were coming off and she was pulling him into her bedroom.

* * *

Alex was the first to wake the next morning, as the sunlight filtered in through her bedroom window. As she slowly opened her eyes, she found her head resting on Max's chest, the sound of his heartbeat echoing softly in her ears.

 _'So he does have one.'_ She jokingly mused to herself as she rolled over onto her back.

Alex glanced over at the sleeping Maxwell beside her, before staring up at the ceiling and letting out a heavy sigh.

 _'So_ _ **that**_ _really happened.'_

An array of conflicting emotions swirled around in her head. She had just slept with **Maxwell Lord**. What was she thinking? A part of her wished she had at least been drinking or something, so she could try to blame her actions on impaired judgement. But no, she had been stone cold sober when she decided this. The young woman let out another sigh.

As much as she'd like to say what happened last night was simply physical and just a way of relieving some tension, deep down, there's a part of her that cares about him, and she knows it. She can't decide if that somehow makes this situation worse or better.

It was all just so complex. This was the same man who had once tried to destroy her sister.

Oh dear Lord, her sister. What was she going to say when she found out?

Alex shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment as she grumbled to herself.

Why, oh why, did she continue to harbor this small quiet hope, that this man had some better angels?

Maybe it was because she had seen that, in a lot of ways, he wasn't the same Max he had been a couple of months ago. Sure he was still smug, arrogant, and pompous, but she had seen past his defenses. She had seen that underneath it all, he really did have a desire to help people, though his methods were sometimes questionable to say the least.

It didn't erase the awful things he had done, but at the same time, was she supposed to hold his mistakes against him forever? She just didn't know.

Alex let out a frustrated groan and covered her face. She had no idea what this all meant, and honestly, it was too early in the morning to be debating it. All she wanted to do right now was lay in bed and forget about the world for another hour, before she had to get ready to go to work and face reality.

A noise in the distance briefly catches Alex's attention and she leans up to look around. When she hears nothing further, she shrugs it off, chalking it up to it being the apartment above hers, and settles back onto her side.

Looking back over at Max, she finds he's still fast asleep beside her. The thought briefly crosses her mind, where she wonders if he usually stays after these type of encounters, or if he sneaks off before the woman in question wakes up? Part of her feels like it's probably the latter, so the fact that he's still here is rather interesting.

 _'Enough with the analyzing.'_ She scolds herself.

She then started to pull the covers up over her shoulder when-

"Hey Alex, you awake yet? I brought over breakfast!"

Alex shot up in bed at the sound of her sister's voice coming from inside her apartment. The noise she had heard earlier must have been the front door opening and closing. Her mind started going a hundred miles a minute as it tried to figure out what to do.

"Max!" She spoke in a hushed voice, nudging him forcefully in the arm. "Wake up!"

Max let out a tired groan as he rolled over.

"And a good morning to you too." He mumbled groggily as he rubbed one of his eyes.

"Kara's here." She informed him, as she tipped her head in the direction of the door.

It took him a moment to process what that meant.

"And I'm guessing you don't want dear ole baby sis knowing about what transpired last night."

Alex shook her head. "Not like this anyway." She knew she needed to tell Kara about what happened, but she needed time to figure things out herself before she could even discuss it with her sister.

Max slowly brought himself up into a sitting position. "Seems we're way past putting a sock on the door, so what do you propose we do?"

Alex quickly glanced around the room trying to formulate some type of escape plan for him. The window was absolutely out of the question, given the fact that she lived a couple of stories up. There was no other way out of the room aside from the one door leading to the rest of her apartment. The only other feasible alternative for now was to hide him, though there weren't many options there either.

A knock at the bedroom door caused them both to freeze.

"Alex!? You in there?" Kara called out.

Alex took a moment to calm herself before responding. "Yeah! Be out in a minute, just getting dressed!"

When the sound of footsteps walking away became quieter, then ceased all together, the two of them let out a breath they hadn't know they'd been holding.

"Get in the closet!" Alex quickly instructed.

Max frowned and shot her a quizzical look. "Come again?"

"It's the only place." She explained simply.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm back in high school?" He commented dryly, rubbing tiredly at his face as he tried to wake up.

The brunette sighed. He wasn't exactly wrong. The situation they had found themselves in sounded rather ridiculous. It was as if she was seventeen and a hiding boy in her closet so that her parents wouldn't find out. Had it really come to this?

When Max started speaking louder, she quickly shushed him by putting a finger to his lips. Her sister had super hearing, and would undoubtedly use her powers if she heard another voice coming from her bedroom. Max stared down at her finger then back up at her and Alex slowly pulled her hand back.

"Just do this for me. Please?"

Max stared at her a moment, then eventually sighed in defeat. Sometimes he hated how easily he caved when it came to her.

He mumbled an agreement as he slowly made his way to his feet. Not moving fast enough for her liking however, she hastened him along by lightly pushing him towards the closet.

"If I didn't know better, Agent Danvers, I'd say you were ashamed of me." He teased, looking back at her with an amused grin. Though Alex often enjoyed their usual banter, now was not the time for it.

Giving him a small shove into the closet, she spun around and threw the rest of his clothes at him, which he just barely managed to catch, and mouthed a quick apology before she shut the door on him.

As Alex opened her bedroom door, she jumped slightly in surprise as she came face to face with her sister right outside.

"Hey, there you are." Kara greeted with a cheery smile, holding a cup of coffee out to her. "I was wondering what was taking so long."

"Yeah, sorry." She ran a hand through her brunette hair, trying to fix her mussed locks, before grabbing the coffee offered to her. "I… didn't get much sleep last night." Alex replied vaguely, as she tried to casually sneak out of her room and discreetly shut the door.

Kara eyed her curiously, and quickly caught on to her sister's odd behavior. She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head slightly as she watched her suspiciously.

"You're hiding something…" Kara announced, rocking back and forth on her heels, trying to peer past her and into the bedroom behind her.

Alex kept her composure, and tried to laugh off the accusation. "Why would you think that?"

"I know you, you've got that look." Kara stroked her own chin in thought. "It's a surprise for my birthday next week in there, isn't it?" Her younger sister asked, grinning excitedly at the prospect.

"Oh, it's a surprise alright." Alex mumbled quietly to herself, before shaking it off and focusing back on Kara. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starved."

Kara pouted slightly and Alex started to head towards the kitchen to grab one of the muffins sitting on the counter that the blonde had brought over. Glancing at the selection, she was about to decide on a blueberry one when Alex suddenly heard her sister let out a high pitched shriek.

Alex grimaced and slowly turned around to see that Kara was no longer behind her. It didn't take much to figure out where she had gone and that the Kryptonian's curiosity had gotten the better of her.

She found Kara standing in the middle of her bedroom, a couple feet away from the closet, covering her eyes.  
Alex let out a defeated sigh and walked over to her. "You used your x-ray vision didn't you?"

Kara nodded sheepishly, her face still buried in her hands. Alex put a sympathetic hand on her sister's shoulder.

"I'm guessing that's my cue." Max said with a cheeky grin as he emerged from the closet. Alex was relieved he at least had his pants on and was in the midst of buttoning up the top half of his dress shirt, not that it really mattered much at this point though.

He turned to the younger Danvers sister. "I'd say its nice to see you, but I'm guessing you saw more of me than you would have liked."

Kara's face went beet red and she awkwardly stared at the ground. Alex rolled her eyes and brought her hand to her forehead. Leave it to Max to make the situation more uncomfortable than it already was.

"Max was just leaving." Alex announced, quickly ushering him out of the room and into the hall.

"What, no offer of a muffin for the road?" He asked teasingly as he passed by the kitchen on his way to the front door. Alex shook her head in exasperation, she was glad someone found this funny. "Goodbye, Max." She said impatiently, as she handed him his shoes and swiftly sent him on his way.

Once she shut the door, Alex turned around and found Kara standing there with her arms folded over her chest, waiting expectantly for an explanation. The brunette took a deep breath and prepared herself for the uncomfortable discussion that awaited her.

* * *

After a long and awkward conversation with her sister, filled with lots of questions and very little real answers, Alex was relieved when she had to head to the DEO for work. Nothing clears the mind, like a day of fighting aliens.

Later that night when Alex got home, she soon heard a knock at her front door. Getting up off the couch, she headed over to the door and peered through the peephole. Letting out a sigh, she opened the door.

"If this is your subtle attempt at a repeat of last night, don't bother." She warned, the tech billionaire.

Max chuckled slightly. "As much as I'd enjoy another round with you, that's not why I'm here. Can we talk?"

Alex gave a small shrug and stepped aside to let him in. She noticed that he seemed almost... nervous, an usual trait for Maxwell Lord. It was an interesting sight.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Alex asked, grinning slightly as she secretly enjoyed how uncomfortable he was when forced to bring up the subject.

"Last night..."

"What about last night?"

 _"Alex."_

Sensing his waning patience, she decided to cut him some slack and stop toying with him. To be honest, she had been a bit nervous about this conversation herself.

"Alright. We'll talk about it. What did you want to say?"

Max stood there a minute, having a internal debate, then let out a decisive breath. He scratched at the back of his neck, before genuinely telling her, "I just... I didn't want you to think you were just some fling or one night stand. It wasn't like that with you, you're... more than that." He added quietly.

Alex stared at him thoughtfully for a moment, but remained quiet. Max tilted his head slightly as he suddenly had a realization. "Or, maybe that's all you _wanted_ it to be." He momentarily glanced away, and Alex could hear the traces of hurt in his voice in spite his attempts to hide it.

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure what I want." She confessed. "Or even what this is exactly. You and I, it's just so…"

"Complicated?"

"That's a bit of an understatement, but yeah. That's about right."

He shrugged. "Most relationships are."

"True, but most don't involve aliens, secret government agencies and trying to destroy one's sister.

"That was one time, and I've since stopped." He admitted unapologetically.

Alex shot him an unamused look. "I'm serious, Max."

He sighed, his expression turning genuine. "I know. So... what _did_ your sister say?"

She shook her head, "You _really_ don't want to know."

He chuckled slightly. "I'm guessing the Maiden of Might isn't all that pleased with me."

"Or me. But I'm her sister, she'll forgive me. You on the other hand... _might_ want to invest in a lead lined room."

They both laughed, and when the laughter eventually faded, a quiet lull fell between them.

"I do care about you, Alex. And I think you know that."

She nodded.

"And I... care about you too." She admitted, albeit somewhat begrudgingly.

Max gave a small chuckle. "Don't sound so pained." He teased.

"So... where exactly does that leave us?" The brunette asked.

"You don't have to decide now, but how about a dinner? If you want it to be a date, then it can be. If not, then it can just be two people having a meal together. I promise no De Jager snail eggs this time around, if that helps."

Alex laughed and mulled over his idea.

He inclined his head to her. "What do you say, Agent Danvers?"

She let a a sigh. "Alright, **one** dinner."

Max gave a pleased grin. "Excellent."


End file.
